Thank you, Cecilia Gimenez

We just received the year-end report for the Silver Birch Press blog and learned that our top postings for 2012 featured Cecilia Gimenez, the 80+-year-old Lady from Spain whose good-intentioned but ill-advised restoration of “Ecce Homo” — a portrait of Christ’s face on the wall of her church in Borja, Spain — made her an international art superstar.

Despite (or more likely because of) all the controversy, Cecilia is thriving — creating new paintings (drafted with admirable skill) and looking well rested (and always well dressed).

Happy New Year, Cecilia. Thank you!

Photo: Cecilia Gimenez and a recent painting.

Painting by Cecilia Gimenez on ebay

There’s just one day left for the ebay auction of “Las Bodegas de Borja,” a 33×22 cm oil on linen painting by Cecilia Gimenez, the octogenarian whose botched restoration of “Ecce Homo,” a fresco on the wall of her church in Borja, Spain, has brought her international acclaim. Current ebay bid for the landscape is 1020 Euro. Cecilia donated the work to Caritas, a Catholic charity, which put the painting up for auction.

I looked up “bodega” and found three meanings — wine cellar, storeroom, and grocery store. Not sure what Cecilia is depicting in her painting, but I’m impressed by her drafting skills. Olé, Cecilia.

Cecilia Gimenez, René Magritte, and Perceptions of Reality

It’s been a while since we checked in with Cecilia Gimenez, the 80-something artist from Spain who decided to dust off her paintbox and try to fix up “Ecce Homo,” a flaking fresco of Christ’s face on the wall of her church.

At first, Cecilia was in trouble for botching the restoration — which was so off the mark that it even inspired a zombie-looking Halloween costume. The church threatened to sue for the cost of a professional restoration, but the situation gained so much international notoriety that soon tourists, gawkers, and art aficionados were flocking to Borja, Spain — boosting community revenues and adding to the coffers of the church, which charged a fee to view the fresco.

The next plot twist occurred when Cecilia Gimenez demanded a cut of the proceeds. I believe she also intends to trademark her artwork — which is appearing on T-shirts, coffee mugs, postcards, and other lucrative sites.

The Cecilia Prize was established to honor the artist who has inspired so many others to pick up their paint brushes, colored markers, Bic pens, and worn-down pencils — and begin to create art. The contest has received over 5,000 submissions from people offering their own wild and varied forms of “Ecce Homo” restoration. Whether you are a believer, nonbeliever, atheist, or agnostic, The Cecilia Prize is a philosophical exercise in contemplating the endless faces of the ineffable, the mysterious, and the creative spirit.

In this blog, we’ve featured entries that serve as homage to famous paintings or are rendered in the style of renowned artists (Warhol and Picasso, for example). Today’s entry by Mark Ferguson is based on René Magritte‘s celebrated painting “The Treachery of Images” (1929). The French phrase in the painting (“Ceci n’est pas une pipe”) means “This is not a pipe.” The joke is that it’s not a pipe — just a picture of one. (Sort of like “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.”)

I have a feeling that the Belgian Surrealist would have enjoyed the whole Cecilia Gimenez passion play. According to my go-to source (okay, it’s Wikipedia), René Magritte‘s work “challenges observers’ preconditioned perceptions of reality.” And, after all, isn’t Cecilia Gimenez doing the same thing?

Cecilia Gimenez Wants Her Fair Share

It’s been a while since we checked in with Cecilia Gimenez, the 81-year-old amateur art restorer from Borja, Spain — now famous for her botched restoration of her church’s fresco “Ecce Homo.” Cecilia is back in the news. Until now, she has been waiting for the church to slap her with a bill for a professional restoration of the fresco — but the tables have turned.

Her painting is now drawing tourists — and the church is charging for a glimpse of the fresco. Spanish newspaper El Correo reports that Cecilia has sought legal representation to copyright her work and obtain royalties for it.

Judging by the way Cecilia is clutching her wallet in the photo at the top of this post, I’d say she has a good chance of winning. 

Cervantes and Shakespeare

“Cervantes and Shakespeare occupied almost the same lifespan. In fact, they both died on the same day, April 23, 1616, by the Gregorian calendar. Don Quixote was published in 1605, and the first edition of Hamlet was probably published in 1603 or 1604. It is as if the two men stood back to back, Cervantes looking backward and Shakespeare looking forward. Cervantes pointed his genius backward and illuminated the medieval consciousness that was just ending in Europe…Shakespeare, in Hamlet, looked forward and made a statement about the modern man who was to come.” ROBERT A. JOHNSON, in Transformation: Understanding the Three Levels of Masculine Consciousness

Illustration: “Ecce Cervantes” an entry by Brazil‘s Gustavo Berocan in The Cecilia Prize, a contest honoring amateur art restorer Cecilia Gimenez. To date, the contest has received about 4,000 entries. View the gallery here.

Spanish Masters

Named “the best literary work of all time” by the World Library, DON QUIXOTE by Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) tells the story of a man who envisions himself as a chivalrous knight and begins to view his life as a noble adventure. Published in the author’s native Spain in 1605 to immediate acclaim, a second part appeared a decade later.

Here is an excerpt:

“Destiny guides our fortunes more favorably than we could have expected. Look there, Sancho Panza, my friend, and see those thirty or so wild giants, with whom I intend to do battle and kill each and all of them, so with their stolen booty we can begin to enrich ourselves. This is noble, righteous warfare, for it is wonderfully useful to God to have such an evil race wiped from the face of the earth.”

“What giants?” asked Sancho Panza.

“The ones you can see over there,” answered his master, “with the huge arms, some of which are very nearly two leagues long.”

“Now look, your grace,” said Sancho, “what you see over there aren’t giants, but windmills, and what seems to be arms are just their sails, that go around in the wind and turn the millstone.”

“Obviously,” replied Don Quixote, “you don’t know much about adventures.” 

NOTE ON THE ABOVE ILLUSTRATION: In 1955, a publication in France (Les Lettres Françaises) commissioned Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) to create a painting for the cover of an edition celebrating the 350th anniversary of Don Quixote. In his brilliantly simple (or simply brilliant) illustration, Picasso captured the novel’s main characters and themes — Don Quixote, his horse Rocinante, his squire Sancho Panza, Sancho’s donkey Dapple, the windmills cited in the above excerpt, as well as the blazing sun of La Mancha.

We celebrate these masters from Spain — Miguel de Cervantes (from Alcalá de Henares) and Pablo Picasso (from Málaga). They continue to inspire, as evidenced by a recent entry in The Cecilia Prize, a contest established to honor Cecilia Gimenez, an amateur artist from Borja, Spain, whose restoration of a beloved fresco (Ecce Homo) has sparked controversy and conversation around the world. The entry, Ecce Quixote (shown at left), is by Gustavo Berocan of Brazil (Twitter @gugudadanews).

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

This post is for people who really love books, especially WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak…

“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters — sometimes very hastily — but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and a drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, ‘Dear Jim: I loved your card.’ Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, ‘Jim loved your card so much he ate it.’ That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.” MAURICE SENDAK

And to celebrate the free spirit of Maurice Sendak, we include in this post another entry in The Cecilia Prize, a contest that honors the creativity of the average everyday “restorer” — named in honor of Cecilia Gimenez, the  amateur art restorer who has gained international fame for her unsolicited restoration of “Ecce Homo,” a fresco on the wall of her church in Borja, Spain. This entry, “Ecce Sendak,” is by Twitter @dairoberts.

Andy Warhol and Cecilia Gimenez, Together Again

As mentioned in our August 31st post, the Campbell’s Tomato Soup cans with Warhol-inspired labels are available starting today at Target (yes, the “discount” store). Of those pictured in the photo above, I like the blue and green one best. Target will offer a limited edition of one million cans at 75 cents each.

Not to spoil the party (so I won’t talk about it here), but  readers may wish to check out livestrong.com for a discussion of the ingredients in Campbell’s Tomato Soup. (Anyway, if I buy a Warhol-inspired can of soup from Target, I don’t intend to open it!)

Since we’re discussing Warhol and soup, this post includes another entry in The Cecilia Prize, the contest that honors the good intentions of Cecilia Gimenez — the parishioner from Borja, Spain, who picked up a paint brush and tried (that’s the operative word) to restore “Ecce Homo,” a flaking fresco of Christ on the wall of her church. This Warhol-inspired entry, Ecce Soup, was created by Twitter @ewajoan.

Cecilia Gimenez and Andy Warhol’s Portrait of Marilyn Monroe

Today, we’re featuring another entry (at right) from The Ceclia Prize contest — this one by Twitter @srqu, who has created a triple triptych in the colors and style of Andy Warhol. (See below for Warhol’s triple triptych — is there a word for this? — of Marilyn Monroe.)

As most readers know, The Cecilia Prize honors Cecilia Gimenez, the amateur art restorer who has gained international attention by trying to repair a fresco of Christ’s face on the wall of the local Catholic church in Borja, Spain. A gallery of Cecilia Prize entries is available here. 

On our blog, we are only featuring entries inspired by the work of esteemed artists — to date, Rene Magritte, Leonardo da Vinci, and Andy Warhol.

Cecilia Gimenez and Mona Lisa

As we mentioned yesterday, Cecilia Gimenez — the octogenarian who botched a fresco restoration at a Catholic church in Borja, Spain — continues to inspire creativity across the globe. People are saying to themselves, “If she’s an artist, so am I!” To give this burgeoning talent pool an outlet for artistic expression, some people (I’m assuming they’re British because of the way they spell “honour”) have set up The Cecilia Prize — for “all the fixers out there,” as the website states.

Included in this post is another fine entry, Ecce Mona (by Twtter @psycher0s). As an art history refresher, we will remind readers that Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci some time between 1503 and 1506. Leonardo created what is now probably the world’s most famous painting in oil on a poplar panel. It is now on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

A friend once told me that when she’d visited the Louvre, she was disappointed at the Mona Lisa because “it was so small.” When my turn to see the painting in person finally arrived, I knew what to anticipate. I remember the room was crowded and no photos were allowed. Somehow, I wedged my way to the front of the onlookers. Seeing the Mona Lisa is like most other lifetime milestones — something you never forget. And, for the record, here are the painting’s dimensions: 77 cm x 53 cm, or 30 inches x 21 inches.